Which instrument is used to transfer a precise volume of liquid into a container for preparing standard solutions?

• A. Pipette
• B. Graduated cylinder
• C. Beaker
• D. Volumetric Flask

Answer: (A)

Transferring a precise volume of liquid into a container requires an instrument designed for accuracy and repeatable delivery. A pipette is built to measure and move a specific amount of liquid, which is essential when preparing standard solutions whose concentration depends on the exact amount of solute and the final volume. In practice, you use a pipette to add a precise volume of stock solution (or solvent) to a container, then dilute or fill to the final mark, ensuring the solution has a known concentration.

Beakers and beaker-like tools are general-purpose containers for mixing and rough measurements, not for precise transfers. Graduated cylinders are more accurate than beakers but are still not as precise as pipettes for delivering a single exact volume. A volumetric flask is the target container for making a standard solution to a known final volume, but the precise transfer into that flask is performed with a pipette to achieve the required accuracy.